Saying Goodbye to the Cougar Trend

Like so many pop culture fads, the cougar trend burned bright and fast. A few years back, everyone was very happy to learn that -- gasp! -- women over the age of 40 could still be sexy. Suddenly, there was a preponderance of evidence -- from Michelle Pfeiffer to Demi Moore, Courtney Cox to Halle Berry -- and it was so shocking and exciting and new that everybody wanted a piece of the trend. But now, it appears to waning.

The craze may well have breathed its last breath this week when 53-year-old Kim Cattrall revealed she was denied a magazine cover when she refused to pose with a real-life cougar. Speaking to EXTRA, the 'Sex and the City 2' star said, "I really take umbrage to the code 'cougar.' I think cougar has a negative connotation, and I don't see anything negative about Samantha and her sexuality, sensuality and choice. I don't think she stands or sits in bars waiting for young men to prey on."

Cattrall declined to name the magazine.

Having Cattrall, a five-time Emmy nominee and Golden Globe winner who is about a week away from starring in what will likely be one of the year's biggest films, pose with an animal as some sort of elaborate metaphor for how she too is on the prowl is pretty exhausting, maybe a little offensive and arguably downright sexist. That she stood her ground and refused to allow some magazine to make a buck by presenting her as some sort of ludicrous caricature because she single, attractive and older than most cover girls is commendable.

Salon's Rebecca Traister laments that while celebrating older women is a good thing, the term itself is a massive step in the wrong direction. "How sad and backward that we have to give it a nickname, animalize it as if it's outside the boundaries of civilized human behavior, make it a trend, pretend that Demi Moore invented it. That's not progress, and it's not a step forward for women." Before the cougar craze took off, she notes: "When Cher used to date Rob Camilletti, I think they called him a 'boy toy,' and they called her 'Cher.'"

(Though, we find it equally insulting to refer to a full-grown man as a powerful woman's play thing -- just sayin.' See also: Ciccone, Madonna and Luz, Jesus.)

Indeed, foxy ladies of all ages have long taken offense to the term. Last year, while promoting her film 'Cheri,' in which she played a courtesan who seduces a much younger man, Michelle Pfeiffer told InStyle, "I so hate that term! Colette wrote these novels so long ago, but even today they're ahead of their time in the way we perceive women's power and sexuality."

Now, the ABC hit 'Cougar Town,' starring Courteney Cox, which began its run last fall as a sometimes-raunchy sex farce about an older woman seducing younger men, is looking to change its name.

Back in March, Cox's husband David Arquette talked to PopEater about his wife's cougar status, admitting that while he thinks it's funny, "She's played such a great character and the writers have done such a good job that I think it's transcended the initial 'cougar' drawing." He also gave PopEater an early heads up that series creator Bill Lawrence was considering the name change.

Speaking to HitFix, Lawrence said, "I'd like to [change the title], and the studio has been talking about it for three reasons: One, partly as a result of common sense and partly from their research, they find too many instances of testing of people saying they would never watch a show called 'Cougar Town' ... and then they screen an episode, and people go, 'Oh, I would watch this show.'" He also noted that the series has grown away from its premise now that Cox's character, Jules, is no longer on the hunt for younger men and is seeing Josh Hopkins' character Grayson, who is also in his forties.

By most estimates, the show is the better for it, and even Cox herself has seemed pretty over it -- the title, that is, not the show -- in recent interviews.

We knew the trend's days were officially numbered when beloved national grandmother Betty White joked about being a cougar. While we certainly don't begrudge White getting her kicks while she can, and still laugh when she jokes that Robert Redford is the only thing she has left to do in Hollywood, by the time she reached it, the joke itself was too stale to be saved -- even by the always-hilarious White. (And it certainly says something -- in and of itself -- that the term was already a past-its-prime parody when White used it to promote her hosting gig on 'Saturday Night Live.')

And so now it looks like we're going to have to look at Pfeiffer, Cox, Cattrall and other aging actress for what they really are: confident, successful women whose talent has kept them in the spotlight beyond an arbitrary media-determined sell-by date. Rather than agree to hide behind some sort of cartoon send-up of what an attractive older woman is, these ladies are redefining how we see life after you spot that first wrinkle. It's kind of sad that we're still here, that we're still not as comfortable as we probably should be with older women expressing their sexuality, but nevertheless, here we are.

Kim Cattrall attends The Laurence Olivier Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, England. More photos >>

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Kim Cattrall is seen on April 21, 2010 in London, England. Celebrity Sightings In London - April 21, 2010 London, England United Kingdom April 21, 2010 Photo by Niki Nikolova/FilmMagic.com To license this image (60229247), contact FilmMagic.com

As as is typical of the writers of these articles, the message is confusing. Are we to be discussing whether older women with younger men is "over" or whether calling them "cougars" is over. Eh, I guess that is the writers way of trying to sensationalize things or turn one person refusal to pose with a cougar into some drama.

I'm 26. I LOVE older women. I'm actually talking to a 45-year-old. She's very hot and athletic, but that's the exception rather than the norm. It seems as if most older women DON'T want to date younger men because it makes them feel like mothers. I dunno. It's just been kind of rare that I haven't met a woman older than 35 who won't say, "You're too young for me!"

Hhhmmmm, I'd say as the mother of a son, I am watching him and his friends turn into men. But, when they're around, I don't wear revealing clothes and go ooohh yeah look at me. YuKKO! The older girls that go for the younger guys, probably didn't date much when younger. They were probably ugly or shy or whatever. Then they became swans and were like yeah, young guys I couldn't get at that age, wahoo wahoo! Or they are just bored with guys their own age because men tend to get boring as they age. Also, if you like the much older, ask yourself why? Were you unmothered much growing up and need a mother figure? Or you just like more mature women? Or you're just good looking, tall, look older for your age and attract these types of women? Ask yourself if you want children because as a woman ages they don't want much of a real baby besides a grandchild! Good Luck